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Raising Parents: Attachment, Representation, and Treatment
by Patricia M. CrittendenHelping troubled parents to raise their children adequately is of crucial importance for parents, their children and society at large. Distressed parents have themselves often been endangered and, as a consequence, sometimes endanger their children either through maltreatment or through the effects of parental psychiatric disorder. Raising Parents explains how that happens and clusters parents in terms of the psychological processes that result in maladaptive childrearing. The book then delineates DMM Integrative Treatment in terms of assessment, formulation, and treatment. New formulations are offered for problems that have resisted treatment and cases demonstrate how the ideas can be applied in real treatment settings. The book closes with 10 suggestions for improving professionals’ responses to troubled families and endangered children. This edition of Raising Parents introduces DMM Integrative Treatment and demonstrates how to use it with vulnerable families. DMM Integrative Treatment is an interpersonal process and this book will be essential reading for clinicians from all disciplines, including psychiatry and psychology, social work, nursing and all types of psychotherapy.
Raising Resilience: How to Help Our Children Thrive in Times of Uncertainty
by Tovah P. KleinHow to be your child's resilience anchor at any age Raising Resilience is a guide to help you develop your child's inner resources, so they can build strength even in times of crisis. Drawing on extensive clinical research with families, child development expert Tovah P. Klein offers Five Pillars of child resilience: - Create emotional safety - Teach emotional regulation - Offer limits alongside freedom - Connect with your child - Accept them as they are With common sense strategies rooted in research, Raising Resilience offers busy, stressed-out parents a guide that will help you establish a loving, stable and connected relationship to nurture your child from the inside out. Foreword by Amy Schumer
Raising Resilience: How to Help Our Children Thrive in Times of Uncertainty
by Tovah P. Klein PhdForeword by Amy SchumerChild development expert and author of How Toddlers Thrive, Dr. Tovah Klein gives parents the confidence they need to help children and teens build resilience and flourish in an unpredictable world.Whether it’s national or global events affecting our sense of safety or stressors in our day-to-day lives, we are constantly confronted with situations that threaten the wellbeing of our children. Thankfully, there is good news that has not yet been reflected in the headlines: we can mitigate the effect of such rampant uncertainty by guiding our children to manage adversity and become more resilient. The key is parental involvement.Raising Resilience is a lifeline for every family contending with life’s many stresses and traumas—from the most commonplace to the most devastating—including peer conflicts, divorce, family tensions, death, moving, academic struggles, and larger personal and national events. Through her years of experience and ongoing research, developmental psychologist Dr. Tovah Klein offers parents and caregivers five specific resources that children can develop, enabling them to face adversity, adjust, and thrive where they might otherwise falter or break down under pressure. Dr. Klein has devoted her professional life to helping children flourish by supporting them to build the inner tools to deal with devastating events and everyday stressors. Using clinical data and building on evidence-based interventions to offset and heal from traumatic events, she shares a five-point plan with actionable strategies, illustrative stories, and conversation prompts so parents can guide their children to become resourceful, adaptive, and able to grow and flourish now and into the future. Wise and hopeful, this essential guide empowers parents and caregivers with practical guidance for instilling in their children the emotional intelligence, cognitive flexibility, and social know-how they need to manage life’s challenges and create a lasting capacity for meaningful, happy lives. Accessible, compassionate, and authoritative, Raising Resilience is a timely resource that shows parents how they can confidently build strong relationships with their children and raise them to be motivated, self-assured, and kind—all of which are qualities desperately needed in our ever-changing world.
Raising Resilient Sons: A Boy Mom's Guide to Building a Strong, Confident, and Emotionally Intelligent Family
by Colleen KesslerYou're a caring mother of boys, part of the "boy mom" phenomenon—now learn how to raise your son to be compassionate, empathetic, and emotionally intelligent with this parenting guide made just for you. Raising a boy, also known as being a &“boy mom,&” is tough in today&’s culture. We want our sons to grow into strong men who will stand up for what&’s right and take care of those they love, but we also want them to share their thoughts, show their feelings, and express emotions in appropriate ways. At its core, we need to teach our boys empathy. That&’s where emotional intelligence comes in. Boys need to understand what they&’re feeling in any given situation and be able to regulate themselves accordingly. In this first-ever book combining emotional intelligence with parenting specific to boys, boy moms will learn how to help their sons: - identify and name their emotions - develop empathetic listening skills - nurture positive and lasting relationships with others - tackle life with a growth mindset - use strategies like mindfulness to regulate their emotions With Raising Resilient Sons, parents will be equipped with the tools they need to build up their sons into the men they know they can be—men who look for the good, spread kindness, react with empathy, and lead with strength and resilience.
Raising Self-Esteem in Adults: An Eclectic Approach with Art Therapy, CBT and DBT Based Techniques
by Susan BuchalterSelf-esteem is the building block of therapy and wellness and is crucial in overcoming depression and anxiety and in leading a fulfilling, functional life. Filled with hundreds of practical activities to help clients build their self-esteem as they become increasingly mindful and self-aware, this book contains a rich assortment of approaches from art therapy, dialectical behavioral and cognitive behavioral therapy. The innovative and established methods examined in the book are based on sound, evidence-based techniques, illustrated with real client experiences, to help therapists gain a greater understanding of how the approaches take effect. This is an essential resource of activities for all art therapists, as well as counsellors, psychologists, other mental health professionals and social workers interested in using art therapy techniques in their work. It is appropriate for use with a wide variety of clients and patients, including those suffering from depression, anxiety, bipolar disorder and schizophrenia.
Raising Sexually Intelligent Kids: Practical Skills for Parents, Carers and Educators
by Anisa VarastehMany parents feel uncomfortable with the thought of having ‘the talk’ with their children, especially teenagers. But what many people don’t realise is how much of sexuality education has nothing to do with sex itself. In this book, Clinical Sexologist Anisa Varasteh teaches the foundations of a comprehensive sexuality education for children and teenagers and answers the most common questions young people have about sex and sexuality. Contrary to popular belief, talking about sex and sexuality does not make young people more prone to sexual experimentation. This book provides research-based evidence for how a comprehensive sexuality education is important for children’s safety, psychological and physical wellbeing. It identifies the barriers to having open conversations with children and teenagers, and outlines methods for how to overcome them. With a focus on skills, the book addresses the building blocks of sexuality education and how to develop an environment of mutual trust, it outlines key topics for discussion and the skills that children need to develop to make healthy decisions about their sexuality. Complete with practical support, including over 20 worksheets and a comprehensive list of tough questions from teenagers – and suggestions for how to address them – this book is an essential resource for parents, carers and educators who are responsible for the health, safety and development of children and teenagers.
Raising Your Kids Without Losing Your Cool
by Shantelle BissonHarried mother of three Shantelle Bisson guides you through raising a family, all while keeping your cool! Let’s face it — raising children can take a wrecking ball to your ambitions, your finances, your relationships, even your health. But, as mother of three Shantelle Bisson will tell you, it doesn’t have to be that way. In Raising Your Kids Without Losing Your Cool, Shantelle sets out how to get ready for baby‘s arrival, helps you through the big push, lays it all out on breastfeeding, and makes sure you don‘t forget to KEEP HAVING SEX. Plus, she‘ll help you navigate the perils of helicopter parenting, children on social media, and even gender-reveal parties, and answer the burning question: Is that really cool?
Raising Your Spirited Baby: A Breakthrough Guide to Thriving When Your Baby Is More . . . Alert and Intense and Struggles to Sleep (Spirited Series)
by Mary Sheedy Kurcinka“Mary Sheedy Kurcinka, Ed.D., brings her expertise in raising spirited children to help you understand and soothe your spirited baby. Her research-based, parent-tested strategies will help your baby sleep better and develop a calmer, more resilient brain and nervous system. I'll be recommending this for all new parents.” —Dr. Laura Markham, founder of AhaParenting.com, and author of Peaceful Parent, Happy KidsFrom the beloved bestselling author whose award-winning parenting books have sold over 1 million copies—an indispensable guide to the unique needs of Spirited Infants™. Does your baby bursts into tears when another baby in the same situation sleeps soundly?Do the strategies your friends swear by not work with your baby?Do the upsets and shrieking come out of seemingly nowhere and take forever to subside?Moms and dads who answer “yes,” are the parents of a spirited infant. Spirited infants are the outliers—the exceptions to the “rules.” They are genetically wired to be alert and intense. Raising them takes special skills and patient perseverance.In this groundbreaking new book, beloved parenting expert Mary Sheedy Kurcinka, Ed.D., offers her findings in the fields of neuroscience, sleep, temperament, self-regulation, attachment, and parent-child interactions, and shares what she has learned from hands-on experiences with families to bring this much-needed perspective to the parenting of babies under eighteen months of age, including:-A plan for success with the 5-step Spirited Baby™ Methodology -How to master the “NUDGE” approach to help your baby thrive-Parental Permissions – practical advice for parents to help them make sure their needs are met-Resources to ensure the whole family unit finds balance and happiness Raising Your Spirited Baby is a shame-free, guilt-free how-to handbook that will be embraced by parents—and everyone who supports them—as a simple, trusted companion.
Raising a Child with Autism: A Guide to Applied Behavior Analysis for Parents
by Shira RichmanApplied Behavior Analysis (ABA) is increasingly recognised as a highly effective way of helping children with autistic spectrum disorders. It is based on a variety of methods and techniques which can be used to promote skills for daily living and change difficult behavior. In Raising a Child with Autism, Shira Richman explains how parents can adapt the practical techniques used in ABA for use at home, providing tips and guidelines to increase play skills, improve communication and sibling interaction and increase independence. The book also covers toilet-training, food selectivity, self-dressing and community outings, and includes an overview of the theory behind ABA as well as a list of resources for further reading. It offers parents a practical and effective way to help autistic children interact more successfully with family, friends and at school.
Raising a Kid Who Can: Simple Strategies to Build a Lifetime of Adaptability and Emotional Strength
by Catherine McCarthy Heather Tedesco Jennifer WeaverThree mental health professionals cut through the "parenting advice" noise with this accessible, easy-to-skim book filled with actionable strategies and tips to build a child's capacity to thrive where they are planted, in good times and bad. It&’s time to parent smarter, not harder. Filled with scientifically based and eminently actionable advice and strategies, Raising a Kid Who Can boils down the ten essential things that every child needs to thrive so that parents can stop drowning in information and get to the business of raising healthier, happier humans. Written by three mental health professionals who work with families, organized for easy skimming, and designed to be useful at any stage in a child&’s life, the book devotes one short, impactful chapter per principle, including Resilience, Attention and Self-Control, Psychological Flexibility, Self-Motivation, Compassion and Gratitude. The result is a new approach to a parenting guide, one that takes a wholistic approach to nurturing a child&’s development and help parents get right to the information they need, when they need it.
Raising a Moody Child
by Mary S. Arnold Mary A. FristadEvery day can be an ordeal for families struggling with the difficult, moody, "impossible" behavior that may point to childhood depression or bipolar disorder. Effective help for kids does exist, but it often requires a customized combination of medication, therapy, coping skills, and support. From esteemed clinician and researcher Dr. Mary Fristad and fellow treatment expert Dr. Jill Goldberg Arnold, this indispensable book explains how treatment works and what additional steps parents can take at home to help children with mood disorders--and the family as a whole--improve the quality of their lives. Explained are why symptoms look so different (and can be so much harder to manage) in children and teens than in adults, how to find the right doctor or therapist, and how to help kids develop their own "coping toolkits." Bursting with practical tools, FAQs, and examples, the book covers everything from dealing with medical crises to resolving school problems, sibling conflicts, and marital stress.
Raising a Screen-Smart Kid: Embrace the Good and Avoid the Bad in the Digital Age
by Julianna MinerFor parents who didn't grow up with smartphones but can't let go of them now, expert advice on raising kids in our constantly connected worldMost kids get their first smartphone at the same time that they're experiencing major developmental changes. Making mistakes has always been a part of growing up, but how do parents help their kids navigate childhood and adolescence at a time when social media has the potential to magnify the consequences of those mistakes? Rather than spend all their time worrying about the worst-case scenario, readers get a bigger-picture understanding of their kids' digital landscape. Drawing on research and interviews with educators, psychologists, and kids themselves, Raising a Screen-Smart Kid offers practical advice on how parents can help their kids avoid the pitfalls and reap the benefits of the digital age by: * using social media to enhance connection with friends and family, instead of following strangers and celebrities, which is a predictor of loneliness and depression * finding online support and community for conditions such as depression and eating disorders, while avoiding potential triggers such as #Thinspiration Pinterest boards * learning and developing life skills through technology--for example, by problem-solving in online games--while avoiding inappropriate contentWritten by a public health expert and the creator of the popular blog Rants from Mommyland, this book shows parents how to help their kids navigate friendships, bullying, dating, self-esteem, and more online.
Raising a Secure Child: How Circle of Security Parenting Can Help You Nurture Your Child's Attachment, Emotional Resilience, and Freedom to Explore
by Christine M. Benton Daniel J. Siegel Glen Cooper Bert Powell Kent HoffmanToday's parents are constantly pressured to be perfect. But in striving to do everything right, we risk missing what children really need for lifelong emotional security. Now the simple, powerful "Circle of Security" parenting strategies that Kent Hoffman, Glen Cooper, and Bert Powell have taught thousands of families are available in self-help form for the first time. You will learn: *How to balance nurturing and protectiveness with promoting your child's independence. *What emotional needs a toddler or older child may be expressing through difficult behavior. *How your own upbringing affects your parenting style--and what you can do about it. Filled with vivid stories and unique practical tools, this book puts the keys to healthy attachment within everyone's reach--self-understanding, flexibility, and the willingness to make and learn from mistakes. Self-assessment checklists can be downloaded and printed for ease of use.
Raising a Self-starter: Over 100 Tips for Parents and Teachers
by Elizabeth Hartley-BrewerWe all dream of having children who can, for lack of a better way to say it, get on with it and do well in life. A curiosity about life and a love of learning can be the attributes that ensure this goal. How can parents foster this kind of spirit in their children?Explaining her model for motivating children through colorful real-life examples, expert Elizabeth Hartley-Brewer shows how, from the start, we can create a climate at home that fosters self-motivation and encourages self-managed achievement across a range of skills-from study habits to making friends. Full of practical strategies and tips to help children help themselves, Raising a Self-Starter is an essential guide for parents who want the best for their children.
Raising a Socially Successful Child
by Dr NowickiWe all want our to children to learn the social skills they need to thrive. Yet many kids are struggling to connect, often with no apparent reason why. What with the steep rise in screen time and the social learning lost to Covid quarantines and school closures, many kids haven't had sufficient opportunity to learn all the rules of nonverbal behaviour.In Raising a Socially Successful Child, Dr. Stephen Nowicki reveals how to identify the non-verbal areas where a child might be struggling, and equips readers with a set of simple exercises for helping any child learn how to:- Follow the rhythm of conversations- Respect the boundaries of personal space- Learn to express and read emotions in facial expressions and body language- Understand the difference between appropriate and inappropriate touch- Sense a person's mood based on their tone of voiceDrawing on decades of research, as well as dozens of case studies, Raising a Socially Successful Child is a much-needed, practical guide to helping children master the non-verbal skills they need to succeed in life.
Raising a Socially Successful Child
by Dr NowickiWe all want our to children to learn the social skills they need to thrive. Yet many kids are struggling to connect, often with no apparent reason why. What with the steep rise in screen time and the social learning lost to Covid quarantines and school closures, many kids haven't had sufficient opportunity to learn all the rules of nonverbal behaviour.In Raising a Socially Successful Child, Dr. Stephen Nowicki reveals how to identify the non-verbal areas where a child might be struggling, and equips readers with a set of simple exercises for helping any child learn how to:- Follow the rhythm of conversations- Respect the boundaries of personal space- Learn to express and read emotions in facial expressions and body language- Understand the difference between appropriate and inappropriate touch- Sense a person's mood based on their tone of voiceDrawing on decades of research, as well as dozens of case studies, Raising a Socially Successful Child is a much-needed, practical guide to helping children master the non-verbal skills they need to succeed in life.
Raising a Socially Successful Child: Teaching Kids the Nonverbal Language They Need to Communicate, Connect, and Thrive
by Dr. Stephen Nowicki&“A brilliant…and perfectly timed&” (William Stixrud, co-author of The Self-Driven Child) book showing how parents and educators can help children master the nonverbal language of social connection and success We all want our kids learn the social skills they need to thrive. Yet many of today&’s kids are struggling to connect, often with no apparent reason why. In most cases, the explanation is simple: a child hasn&’t fully mastered the nonverbal language of everyday social interaction, like how to take turns in a conversation, how to respect boundaries of personal space, or how to tell whether a friend is feeling happy or sad. And yet, children aren&’t taught nonverbal skills in the same formalized way they are taught reading and writing. Instead, they are expected to absorb these skills at school, home, and on the playground. But between the steep rise in screen time and the social learning lost to Covid quarantines and school closures, today&’s kids have had fewer opportunities to learn the rules of nonverbal behavior. Fortunately, parents and teachers can help kids shore up these essential skills. In Raising a Socially Successful Child, Dr. Stephen Nowicki reveals how to identify the nonverbal areas where a child might be struggling, and equips readers with a set of simple exercises to help any child learn how to: Follow the rhythm of conversations Express and read emotions in facial expressions and body language Understand the difference between appropriate and inappropriate touch Sense a person&’s mood based on their tone of voice And more Drawing on decades of research, as well as dozens of stories from across the country, Raising a Socially Successful Child is the practical guide to helping children master the nonverbal skills they need to succeed in childhood, and their adult lives.
Raising a Team Player: Teaching Kids Lasting Values on the Field, on the Court, and on the Bench
by Joe Torre Danny Peary Harry SheehyIn addition to developing athletic prowess, team sports present a great opportunity for nurturing critical social skills in young athletes. With plenty of advice on bestowing praise, tempering unwanted behavior, and supporting kids and teens on the field, Harry Sheehy shares lessons and wisdom learned from more than two decades of working with young athletes at Williams College and Dartmouth College. Encouraging parents to get involved, Sheehy demonstrates how sportsmanship can help instill important life values that extend beyond the game.
Ralph Edwards: The Inside Story of a Worldwide Quest for Safer Medicines (Springer Biographies)
by Ian HembrowMedical treatments designed to help people can also be harmful or fatal. Around 2.5 million people die this way each year. So if any kind of medicine makes someone unwell, they or their doctor should report it. Those reports, from nearly every country in the world, go to the Uppsala Monitoring Centre (UMC) in Sweden. As the Centre’s first director, Professor Ivor Ralph Edwards transformed it from a tiny operation with limited horizons into an internationally acclaimed scientific organization at the heart of the World Health Organization’s Programme for International Drug Monitoring. He was then succeeded by his wife, Dr Marie Lindquist.This is the story of how a new science developed and a passionate and dedicated pursuit of worldwide medicines safety, with an unerring focus on the welfare of patients. The pioneering work of Ralph, Marie and their collaborators on every continent protected the lives of millions of people. It may yet improve the lives of billions more.
Ralph Metzner, Explorer of Consciousness: The Life and Legacy of a Psychedelic Pioneer
by Cathy Coleman• Includes contributions from Rick Doblin, Charles S. Grob, Stan Grof, Stanley Krippner, Dennis McKenna, the late Christian Rätsch, Richard Strozzi-Heckler, Claudia Mueller-Ebeling, Dorothy Fadiman, Luis Eduardo Luna, and others• Explores Ralph&’s childhood, his time at Harvard with Timothy Leary and Richard Alpert (Ram Dass), his work with Agni Yoga and transpersonal psychology, his development of ecopsychology, and his in-depth psychedelic researchRenowned as a pioneering psychologist, psychedelic elder, alchemical explorer, and shamanic teacher, the late Ralph Metzner (1936–2019) contributed profoundly to consciousness research, transpersonal psychology, and contemporary psychedelic studies across his more than 50-year career.Celebrating the life and legacy of Ralph Metzner, this book explores how Ralph touched the lives of those around him in extraordinary and remarkable ways, recasting people&’s worldviews and inspiring the flowering of creativity, personal growth, and spiritual transformation. There are recollections from the pivotal years of the Sixties, when Ralph conducted research with Timothy Leary and Richard Alpert (Ram Dass). Other contributors describe Ralph&’s involvement in the School of Actualism in the 1970s and the profound impact that Agni Yoga had on Ralph&’s explorations of consciousness and his healing therapies. We also learn about Ralph&’s development of Green Psychology, or ecopsychology, his mystical work exploring prenatal realms of consciousness and channeling, and his healing and transformative &“Vision Circles.&” Academic colleagues and a who&’s who of fellow psychedelic researchers share stories from their work with Ralph, illuminating his depth of knowledge and broad impact. This book paints a complete portrait of Ralph Metzner in his well-known roles as therapist and psychedelic pioneer and as an intrepid explorer of consciousness until the very end of his life.
Rampage
by Katherine S. Newman"In the last decade, school shootings have decimated communities and terrified parents, teachers, and children in even the most "family friendly" American towns and suburbs. These tragedies appear to b"
Random Reflections From An Everyday Sinner
by Bill ClarkRandom Reflections from an Everyday Sinner is a collection of thoughts and reflections about experiencing life from one common man&’s perspective. It speaks of interpersonal experiences in life and the struggles of incorporating belief into a pragmatic and productive world view.The collection of writings are primarily the result of encouragement from my wife, friends, and acquaintances made over a lifetime of extensive work-related travel, Church involvement and general encounters with family members and others navigating through life.&“Experience is the name everyone gives to their mistakes.&” --Oscar WildeThe writings were also therapy. After experiencing the death of parents, 50+ years of working and getting &“retired&” by a corporate takeover and experiencing other common traumas of life, I needed to slow down and readjust my perspective on life. I needed to learn how to stop just reacting and become a better contributor to my own mental health and to the lives of those I encounter.There are a handful of universal truths in these writings. You&’ll know them when you read them. But mostly, this is just a record of experience and opinion. Hopefully you&’ll read these knowing they are intended as encouragement and not as an invitation to philosophical combat. If you disagree with something written here figure out what your position looks like, so you can encourage yourself and others.&“Happy people plan actions, they don't plan results.&” --Denis WaitleyRespectfully,Bill Clark
Randomistas: How Radical Researchers Are Changing Our World
by Andrew LeighA fascinating account of how radical researchers have used experiments to overturn conventional wisdom and shaped life as we know itExperiments have consistently been used in the hard sciences, but in recent decades social scientists have adopted the practice. Randomized trials have been used to design policies to increase educational attainment, lower crime rates, elevate employment rates, and improve living standards among the poor.This book tells the stories of radical researchers who have used experiments to overturn conventional wisdom. From finding the cure for scurvy to discovering what policies really improve literacy rates, Leigh shows how randomistas have shaped life as we know it. Written in a &“Gladwell-esque&” style, this book provides a fascinating account of key randomized control trial studies from across the globe and the challenges that randomistas have faced in getting their studies accepted and their findings implemented. In telling these stories, Leigh draws out key lessons learned and shows the most effective way to conduct these trials.
Range: Why Generalists Triumph in a Specialized World
by David EpsteinA powerful argument for how to succeed in any field: develop broad interests and skills while everyone around you is rushing to specialize. Plenty of experts argue that anyone who wants to develop a skill, play an instrument, or lead their field should start early, focus intensely, and rack up as many hours of deliberate practice as possible. If you dabble or delay, you’ll never catch up to the people who got a head start. But a closer look at research on the world’s top performers, from professional athletes to Nobel laureates, shows that early specialization is the exception, not the rule. <P><P>David Epstein examined the world’s most successful athletes, artists, musicians, inventors, forecasters and scientists. He discovered that in most fields—especially those that are complex and unpredictable—generalists, not specialists, are primed to excel. Generalists often find their path late, and they juggle many interests rather than focusing on one. They’re also more creative, more agile, and able to make connections their more specialized peers can’t see. <P><P>Provocative, rigorous, and engrossing, Range makes a compelling case for actively cultivating inefficiency. Failing a test is the best way to learn. Frequent quitters end up with the most fulfilling careers. The most impactful inventors cross domains rather than deepening their knowledge in a single area. As experts silo themselves further while computers master more of the skills once reserved for highly focused humans, people who think broadly and embrace diverse experiences and perspectives will increasingly thrive. <P><b>A New York Times Bestseller</b>
Ranger Games: A Story of Soldiers, Family and an Inexplicable Crime
by Ben BlumIn the tradition of Truman Capote and Jon Krakauer, a brilliant exploration of an inexplicable crime and its devastating consequences for the author's family.As a child Ben Blum was a math prodigy adrift in a family of alpha males, foremost among them his first cousin Alex, an immensely popular high school hockey star who had one unshakeable goal in life: endure a brutally difficult training course, become a U.S. Army Ranger and fight terrorists for his country. He succeeded, but on the last day of his leave before deployment, Alex got into his car with two fellow soldiers and two strangers, drove to a local bank in Tacoma and committed armed robbery. The question that haunted Ben, the entire Blum family and even Alex was: Why? Alex didn't need money--his family was well off. He had never had the slightest trouble with the law. He believed passionately in the Ranger's creed, which emphasized honour above all. At first, Alex insisted he thought the robbery was just another exercise in the famously daunting Ranger training program. His attorney presented a case based on the theory that the Ranger indoctrination mirrored that of a cult. Or was it the influence of the soldier who planned the robbery, Alex's superior, Luke Elliott Sommer, a charismatic combat veteran full of swagger and grandiose schemes? Facing his own personal crisis, and in the hopes of helping both Alex and his splintering family cope, Ben delved into these mysteries, growing closer to Alex in the process. As he probed further, he also came to know Sommer, whose manipulative tendencies, combined with a magnetic personality, lured Ben into a relationship that put his loyalties to the test. Intricate, heartrending and morally urgent, Ranger Games is a true crime story like no other. Ben's enormous compassion for his cousin deepens and complicates his search for the answers to profound questions of guilt and innocence, conformity and free will, truth and lies, right and wrong, and how far crisis can stretch the bonds of family.